My Own Destiny
by ImaWriter97
Summary: When Meghan Hart encountered Percy Jackson at the St. Louis Arch, her life was turned completely upside down, and she was dragged into a world of demigods and monsters that seemed to be out of a fantasy. Follow her as she discovers her own heritage and destiny, all while figuring out who she is and how to control her own powers.
1. The St Louis Arch Gets Blown Up

**Hello everyone! So this is my first story I'm publishing on fanfiction. I've been reading fanfiction for a while, and I've always had ideas for stories, and now I'm getting around to actually writing them down. I actually came up with the concept for this story a few years ago, and I've thought about this idea ever since. It involves and mainly follows the story of an OC. The beginning will follow some of the events in** _ **The Lightning Thief**_ **, but will stray more away from the books after that. It will be canon for the most part and the general plot of the series itself will not change, this is just the events of the series told from a different perspective. (Hopefully that gives everyone an idea of what to expect.) Reviews and constructive criticism are very much appreciated!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson Series. Anything you recognize is from Rick Riordan's novels.**

* * *

When we finally arrived at the St. Louis Arch, I was not in a good mood, to say the least.

My mom and my step-dad, who she recently married, thought that it would be a great idea to take me and my eight-year-old step brother, Matthew on a roadtrip to "grow closer as a family" and "celebrate the end of the school year". Don't get me wrong- I was ecstatic when I had found out that we would be going on vacation. Before my mom married Chris, I had never gone on an actual vacation, or travelled all that far from Cleveland, where I'm from. But now, about two weeks into the trip, I was absolutely done and wanted nothing more than to go home, see my friends, and sleep in my own bed. First of all, I was stuck in our car for endless hours everyday, travelling to our next destination. We started our trip by going out East, then through the South, and then we drove to St. Louis. Eventually we would travel to Chicago, then through Indiana, until finally we would arrive back home. I wouldn't have minded the long car rides, but my step dad insisted that since the four of us had vastly different tastes in music, we listen to audiobooks or talk shows on the radio, which never failed to give me a headache. And to promote "family discussions", my mom insisted that I not ignore everyone and listen to my iPod.

In addition to that, I was struggling to get along with Matthew. Because of the four years between us, we had very little in common, and despite the insistence of our respective parents, we really weren't making any progress in our relationship. I just wanted to get home and see my two best friends, Lucy and Justin, again. I couldn't even talk to them while I was gone because my mom insisted that I didn't need a cell phone, which was totally unfair. I mean, Lucy and Justin didn't have phones either, and a lot of my classmates didn't, but still, I really wanted one.

Thirdly, I was exhausted, because the night before I'd had a really unsettling dream. I tended to remember a lot of my dreams, but most of the time they were just the really odd dreams that you tell your friends and laugh about the next day. In the dream, I was alone in a dark wasteland, and it was almost like I was in a huge cave. Right in front of me was a dark crevasse that appeared to stretch for miles and have no visible bottom. I couldn't see much of my surroundings, as they were surrounded by a dense fog. Then I heard a deep voice which seemed to rise out of the abyss. _In a few short hours you will find the trio sent on a quest. Bring their leader to me, and you will be rewarded greatly._ What really freaked me out about the dream was that it was so vivid and that I could clearly feel a voice speaking to me. Though the voice offered rewards to me, which would be nice I guess, there was something evil about it as well, and I had a gut feeling that I should not follow the voice's orders.

* * *

"Meghan, get in the elevator already." Matthew's voice takes me out of my thoughts.

"Oh, coming." I started to walk into the elevator.

"Sorry, this elevator is full," the attendant told me as I tried to join my family. "You'll have to take the next one up. The elevators can only seat five people."

My mom started to step out of the elevator. "Meghan, I can ride with you-"

"It's ok, mom. I can go by myself. I'll be up there a few minutes after you. I'll just take the next elevator."

After a few minutes, the elevator came back, and I was the first to step on. I was accompanied by three people that looked to be about my age: two boys and one girl, all wearing matching orange shirts, and a large woman with her pet chihuahua. I wasn't exactly sure if animals were allowed in the Arch, but I wasn't about to question this lady, as she kind of creeped me out. The elevator left, and for about a minute we sat in silence, until the lady said, "No parents?"

I looked up as the girl, who had curly blonde hair and piercing gray eyes said, "They're below, scared of heights."

"Oh, the poor dears," the lady replied. Then she looked at me, sensing that I was not with the others. "Where are your parents, dear?"

"They took the elevator before this one. It was full though, so it didn't have room for me," I replied quickly. This lady was really starting to give me a really bad feeling, almost a sense of impending doom.

Then her chihuahua began to bark, and the lady told it, "Now, now sonny, behave."

One of the boys then asked her, "Sonny. Is that his name?"

At that moment, I decided to more closely observe the three. Aside from the blonde girl, there were two guys: one scrawny, with reddish, curly hair; the other had black hair and deep green eyes. Suddenly, my stomach dropped. _The trio sent on a quest._ Could this be the trio mentioned in my dream? I tried to shake it off, as it was only a dream, but for some reason I just couldn't.

Before I could freak myself out any further, the lady replied to the boy with a "No" and smiled very creepily.

The elevator continued to move, and suddenly I felt like I was being watched. I looked up to see the scrawny boy sniffing the air, or at least that's what it looked like, with a look of dread on his face. The girl next to him was staring at me as well, as if she was trying to figure me out. The black haired boy, however, seem pretty oblivious to the situation.

When the elevator reached the top of the Arch at last, I ran out to meet up with my family, thoroughly startled by that entire ride. I tried to focus on my surroundings, but it was really difficult with everything that was on my mind. I wanted to tell my mom that I just wanted to leave, but that would worry her. She's always been a very cautious person, and was pretty reluctant to even letting us go on this trip. Telling her about what happened in the elevator might scare her and spoil the trip. I was probably overreacting anyways.

Strange things, things I could never explain, happened to me fairly often anyways. There was one incident, when I was about eight, where there were two stray dogs stalking the outside of my neighborhood, only a few houses away from my own. I was playing with Lucy and Justin in my front yard, and we hadn't even noticed until my mom came running outside and forced us to come in, and she made us stay there for the next six hours. Despite all the questions my curious eight-year-old self had, my mom would never give a proper explanation as to why she was so worried. She simply told me that one of our neighbors must have let their dogs loose, and that she didn't want the dogs to attack me or my friends.

More recently, on the first day of sixth grade, my school went on lockdown for two hours. We were never told why, but rumors went around that there was an armed robbery at a nearby jewelry store, and that the car with the involved suspects drove through the school parking lot. I told my mom about this, and to my surprise, she totally freaked out. All that evening, she was on the phone, and all I could hear her talking about was something about danger and a camp. Later, she assured me that nothing was wrong, and that I would be fine.

* * *

We stayed in the Arch for a while, so I had a lot of time to think and process all the weird things about my life, and before I knew it, the Park Rangers were announcing that the observation deck would be closing shortly. I slowly made my way to the elevator line, and I was about to join my family when some of the people behind us gave me really nasty looks for cutting the line. "You know what, mom? I think I'll just get in the back of the line. I don't want to annoy the people behind us, and I'd like to spend more time up here," I told her.

"Meghan, I'd really prefer it if you stayed with us," she replied, looking anxious.

"Mom, I rode up here by myself. I'll just meet you guys at the bottom."

Then my stepdad cut into the conversation. "I think Meghan will be fine staying up here. We can just wait for her." I think he sensed the people behind us not being too happy about me cutting ahead.

My mom sighed and let me stay, so I made my way to the back of the line. Eventually, the only people left in the Arch were me, the black-haired boy, the creepy chihuahua lady, one of the park rangers, and a little boy with his family. Suddenly, the chihuahua started to bark really loudly.

"Doggie! Look, a doggie!" exclaimed the little boy. His parents immediately pulled him away from the dog.

Then the chihuahua turned to the boy, and then to me, and started to growl at us. "Well, son," the lady said, "if you insist."

I guess the boy was just as freaked out as I was, because he asked, "Um, did you just call that chihuahua your son?"

"Chimera, dear," she said, "not a chihuahua. It's an easy mistake to make." She then proceeded to roll her sleeves up, revealing nasty, green, scaly skin. I figured I should either run, because she appeared to be some sort of monster, or maybe offer her some lotion.

"You should really get that checked out by a doctor," I said without thinking, probably because I was majorly freaked out.

The lady simply laughed. "I must say, I was not expecting to find another half-blood here. But I will not object- it is only so often that I have the opportunity to test them." Then she flicked her forked tongue, and her eyes became slits.

Then her chimera, or whatever she said it was, started to bark even more loudly, and each time it barked, it grew, eventually becoming so tall that its back hit the ceiling of the room. Its appearance changed too, now having the head of a lion, body and hooves of a goat, and its tail was a ten foot long snake. I screamed and ran to the corner of the observation deck in fear. Then the psycho monster lady said to the boy, "Be honored, Percy Jackson. Lord Zeus rarely allows me to test a hero with one of my brood, as I mentioned before. For I am the mother of monsters, the terrible Echidna!"

I tried to process everything that she had just said. Zeus? As in Greek mythology lightning bolt guy Zeus? And what was all this talk about half-bloods and heros?

Then the Percy kid said, "Isn't that a kind of anteater?"

That made Echidna so angry that she started to rant about Australia and how they named an animal after her. Had I not been in a life or death scenario, I would have laughed. It was a little concerning, however, because then she said that she was going to destroy Percy.

The chimera charged at Percy, but he managed to dodge the monster. Meanwhile, the others in the room were trying to open the emergency exit across from where I was. So even if I wanted to take that exit, I would have to walk right through where Percy and the Chimera were fighting.

Then, Percy ran to the other side of the deck and took out a pen. I blinked, and suddenly he was holding a sword. Percy then yelled, "Hey chihuahua!" and it spun around, opened its mouth, and shot flames towards him. He was able to avoid the flames, but there was now a huge hole in the side of the Arch. Whoops.

Percy slashed his sword at the monster's neck, but the sword must have bounced off the dog's collar. Before I could process that, the Chimera whipped its snake tail around and bit Percy in the leg. He attempted to hit the Chimera with the sword, but the Chimera knocked it out of his hand and through the hole in the Arch. Percy was surrounded, and we were all screwed. Echidna cackled, "They don't make heros like they used to, eh, son?" It looked like this was the end for Percy. "If you are the son of Poseidon, you should not fear water. Jump, Percy Jackson. Show me that water will not harm you. Jump and retrieve your sword. Prove your bloodline."

 _Son of Poseidon?_ I thought. _Again, what's with all the Greek mythology references? They're just myths, right?_

I didn't know what to do. I had no way to fight Echidna or the Chimera, Percy was going to jump out of the Arch and probably die, and things weren't looking good for me either. Echidna had singled me out as a half-blood, along with Percy. She had also said that he was a son of Poseidon. Did that mean…

All of a sudden, the air around me began to sort of shimmer, and a golden bow appeared in my hands, along with two golden arrows. Even though I had never shot a bow in my life, I knew what I had to do.

"You have no faith. You do not trust the gods. I cannot blame you, little coward. Better you die now. The gods are faithless. The poison is in your heart."

Percy seemed to think for a moment. I put one of the arrows in the bow and pulled it back, just as I had seen in movies.

"Die, faithless one," Echidna rasped, and the Chimera sent flames towards Percy.

Percy jumped.

Now was the time. I tried to aim for the Chimera, and I let the arrow go, hoping for the best.

The shot was perfect apparently, as it hit the Chimera and the Chimera exploded into dust. Before Echidna could react, I sent another arrow right at her chest. It was right on target, and Echidna was vaporized. Upon the defeat of both monsters, the bow and arrows disappeared.

Before I could process what happened, I decided that I had to get out of the Arch immediately, but I didn't have the time to wait for an elevator if they were even running. And if I did wait, I could easily be questioned, and what would I say? A giant monster attacked I spotted a door that said "Stairs: Maintenance Personnel Only", and immediately darted towards it, and it was thankfully unlocked. I opened it, then slammed the door shut again, and started to carefully run down the stairs, hoping that no one would follow me. A thousand different thoughts were going through my mind as I ran down the stairs. Everything that just happened kept replaying in my head, and this made me think of question had no rational answer. Though all of this, however, I somehow knew one thing for certain: Percy Jackson was not dead, and I had to find him immediately.

* * *

 **Ok, so that was the first chapter! Please review if you want me to continue, it would be really encouraging! Tell me what you think as well! Also, if you notice any errors, please review or PM me! A lot of this chapter was written a couple years ago, I just finally had the motivation to continue with this idea, and although I did a lot of editing and changes, I may have missed something! I'll try to upload again soon!**


	2. I Become a Fugitive

**Hey everyone! Thanks to everyone who has read/reviewed/followed this story! I really appreciate it! So normally, I wouldn't post a new chapter this soon, but since I am still on break for school, I figured why not? I'm going to try to write a lot before school starts next week so I have a backlog of chapters to post (hopefully weekly-ish) and so this story doesn't have to go on a long hiatus. I'm hoping this semester won't be too rough though! And if I figure out a regular posting schedule, I'll tell you! Anyways, here's chapter two!**

 **Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan so I do not own the Percy Jackson series.**

* * *

As I stepped out of the Arch, I was greeted with pure chaos. Police cars and ambulances were everywhere, and emergency personnel were dashing around, talking to each other on walkie talkies. Civilians were running around and screaming, and the police were struggling to contain the crowds. My heart sank. It would be nearly impossible to find Percy Jackson now. I decided to follow my instincts, however, and ran towards the bank of the Mississippi River, where I assumed Percy would be.

Most people would be surprised that my first thoughts weren't of finding my family and telling them that I was alive and unharmed. It was highly likely that they thought I was seriously injured, or even dead, after all, there was now a huge, gaping hole in the side of the Arch. My mom was surely having a panic attack at this moment and thinking the worst. These things were all secondary thoughts going through my mind, but I knew that first it was imperative for me to find Percy first. Don't ask how I knew it, or why I chose to find Percy first- it was just sort of a gut instinct that I had, like a little voice in my head was telling me to do it.

I followed the Mississippi River for about a block when I saw Percy literally step out of the river, completely unharmed. He even appeared to be completely dry. I wasn't sure whether I should approach him now, or wait for him to recover from his fall for a minute before I did. While deliberating between the two options in my head, the two others that were with Percy in the Arch ran up to him, looking incredibly relieved. They talked for a moment, and then they started to walk away. I knew that I would lose them in the crowd if I tried to follow them without getting their attention. "Wait! Percy!" I shouted.

The three of them turned around, frightened, and the two that were with Percy seemed to encourage him to walk faster to get away from me. Percy, however, recognizing who I was, motioned for them to stop, and hesitantly, I approached them.

Percy looked confused. "You were in the Arch too, weren't you? How did you get down here already?" Then his eyes widened in horror. "The others...are they alright? I wanted to help- I had to jump though."

"Yeah, I was in the Arch. After the monsters disintegrated, I went through an 'employees only' door, and took the stairs all the way down here. I know this is going to sound crazy, but as you were about to jump, a golden bow with two arrows sort of appeared in my hands. Once you jumped, I shot the monsters, and they turned into dust. Then I knew I had to get out. I didn't want to be questioned, and I knew somehow that you didn't die from the fall," I explained.

"Echidna said that she wasn't expecting there to be another half-blood. She must have meant you. You have to come with us. We can get you to safety," Percy said. "We were just about to leave-"

"But Percy, the quest. And how do we even know to trust her? We don't even know her name, or anything about her. She could easily be a monster in disguise," the girl said accusingly. I could tell that she didn't trust me and that wasn't happy about me being there.

"I'm Meghan Hart. And I promise, you can trust me. I honestly have no idea what is going on. I just need answers, please."

"Annabeth, I heard Echidna call her a half-blood. She has to come with us. What if more monsters show up? We have to help her get to safety," Percy pleaded.

The other boy with them spoke up. "I think Percy's right. Meghan doesn't smell like a monster. I knew that your half-blood scent seemed stronger when we were at the Arch. I definitely smelled another half-blood."

The girl, presumably Annabeth, sighed. "Fine. But we have to get out of here now. You heard the reporter back there talking about Percy."

The three of us ducked into an alley, then ran to a train station. I bought myself a ticket, thankfully having just enough money at the bottom of the backpack I carried with me and then followed Percy, Annabeth, and the other boy to a train. We didn't talk at all until we were seated on a train and it left St. Louis. I know most people wouldn't have done what I just did, but after the events at the Arch, I figured why not trust three strangers and travel west with them by train? If they tried to hurt me (which I didn't think they would) I could defend myself again, probably...

I was the first to speak. "Okay, so I guess this is the part where you'll give me an explanation of what just happened."

The boy whose name I didn't know replied. "Well, if you didn't know, he's Percy, she's Annabeth, and I'm Grover. You said your name was Meghan, right?" I nodded. "I guess I'll start from the beginning. Meghan, what do you know about Greek mythology?"

"Um, I know the basics, I guess, from what I learned in my English class this past year," I replied.

"Ok, contrary to what you might believe, the Greek myths are completely real. The gods, monsters, and everything," he said slowly, as if he was allowing me to absorb it all.

To be honest, I wasn't that shocked at what he was saying, especially after what I had just seen. It was absolutely crazy, but Grover seemed like he was being truthful. "The monster, Echidna, called Percy a half-blood. Then she called him a son of Poseidon. She called me a half-blood as well. Does that mean-"

Grover interrupted me and continued. "In the Greek myths, the gods always came to earth, fell in love, and had children with mortals. These children were half-bloods, also known as demigods, and they were heroes. The same thing happens today. Percy is a son of Poseidon. Annabeth is a daughter of Athena. I'm not a demigod, however. I'm a satyr." He motioned to his feet, which I just noticed were actually hooves.

I gasped. "That explains everything, like all the weird stuff that's happened to me, and why I never knew my father, and why my mom was so reluctant to talk about him." Then I realized something else. "My mom! She doesn't know what's happened to me. Do any of you have a cell phone or something that I can contact her with?"

Grover shook his head. "Cell phones send off a signal that attracts monsters to demigods. I can try to help you contact your family as soon as possible, however."

I sighed, and honestly just hoped that my mom would figure I was safe. It was possible that the others in the Arch with me would say I was there and didn't die. I still had questions anyways. "So I'm a demigod. And that means… my father is a Greek god?" I said that very slowly, still trying to process the concept. "Who is my father, then?"

"I don't know. Usually the gods will claim their children. At least, some of the time. Once you get back to camp, you might be claimed."

"Camp?"

"Camp Half Blood. It's the only safe place in the world for demigods. You might be claimed there, and that would determine which cabin you stay in," Grover explained.

"Why aren't you at Camp Half Blood then?"

"Percy was issued a quest. Zeus' master bolt was stolen, and Percy, being a son of Poseidon, was blamed. A while back, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades swore not to have any demigod children. Zeus broke the oath first, and then Poseidon did. Zeus and Poseidon's relationship has always been quite rocky, so obviously, Zeus was really mad when he found out that Poseidon broke his oath. He's accusing Poseidon of trying to usurp his power, so we're trying to prove Percy innocent by retrieving it," Annabeth explained. "We are certain that Hades stole it, so we're going to Los Angeles to get it back from him and return it to Zeus by the summer solstice. If we don't, war could break out among the gods."

I was sort of confused about why Zeus was so mad, since he broke the oath first, but Annabeth seemed to get a bit upset when mentioning that, so I decided not to ask about it. "But why aren't we going to Greece, then? Wouldn't the gods be there?"

"No. The gods moved with the heart of Western civilization, so they're in America now. Olympus is in Manhattan, on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building. The Underworld is in Los Angeles," Annabeth explained further.

I guess that all made enough sense, but I still had a headache from all the information I was getting. I had just fought a monster and run off on a quest with two half-bloods and a satyr to find out that the Greek gods are real and that one of them is my dad. "Wow, that's a lot to process" was all I really could say. Everyone stayed quiet for a few seconds.

Percy broke the silence. "So, Meghan, tell us about yourself, I guess."

I took a deep breath. "Well, you know my name is Meghan. I'm twelve, and I just finished sixth grade. School has always been kind of a struggle for me. I get decent grades, but I'm dyslexic, and I have some ADHD. Despite my dyslexia, however, I really enjoy English class. I also really like biology."

"That's usually around the age when demigods first go to Camp Half-Blood. Also, a lot of demigods are dyslexic because their brains are hardwired to learn Ancient Greek, and many are ADHD because it helps with battle reflexes," Grover interjected. "Sorry, continue, Meghan."

"I live with my mom, and she just married my step dad, Chris, and he has a son, my step brother, Matthew. He's eight. Like I told you before, I never knew my dad, like I haven't even seen a picture of him. All I know is that my mom met him when she was in college, and she had me right after she graduated and got her degree. I like to act and sing, and I also run cross country. And that's sort of the basics about me, I guess. What about you all?"

Percy, Annabeth, and Grover continued to tell me about themselves, and how they each got to Camp Half Blood. Like me, Percy only recently found out that he is a demigod. They told me about the quest so far, and the prophecy, and finally, Percy explained how he had been summoned by his father to Santa Monica. After that, we continued to chat about Camp Half-Blood. I told them about the weird things that happened in my life that made it more clear that I was indeed a demigod. Eventually, it got dark, and after a stop in the dining car, the four of us decided to try to sleep. I was exhausted from that day and from trying to process everything I had been told, so I fell asleep almost instantly after closing my eyes.

* * *

Of course, upon falling asleep, I immediately began to dream. I was back in the same place as last night's dream, standing at the same abyss as before.

The same sinister voice spoke to me once again. _Nicely done, young demigod. With the assistance of your father, you managed to defeat Echidna and join the trio on their quest. Now I will remind you once again: I want you to bring them to me at this exact location._ _You do this, and I offer you power, wealth, and fame in the world that I will rule. However, if you choose not to, I can guarantee that you and your loved ones will not be able to avoid the consequences._

Then everything went black.

* * *

 **Ok, so that's chapter two! Don't forget to review! Also, sorry if this chapter was mostly filler/explanations and is on the shorter side. The next one will see some more action, I promise! I did think about combining this chapter with the next, but it didn't really fit to me, and I liked the chapter ending this way.**


	3. We're Tricked On Live TV

**Okay, so this chapter is MUCH longer than the last two! This chapter also closely follows many of the events within TLT, so hopefully this chapter isn't super boring. I tried not to just rewrite the novel, so anything taken from it is just the dialogue. I also tried to add some new elements too and kind of tell the events from another perspective! Hopefully I did ok!**

 **Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan. I do not own Percy Jackson. Any dialogue you recognize is from** _ **The Lightning Thief**_ **.**

* * *

The next afternoon, our train arrived in Denver, and unfortunately, this was as far as we could go by train, since we ran out of money. I was hungry, sore, and sure that I looked awful. In addition to that, I was really shaken up about the dream I had the night before. As much as I tried to convince myself that it was only a dream, and therefore couldn't affect reality, I simply couldn't. _Was this normal for demigods, to have dreams like this?_ I thought to myself. Sure, I'd had vivid dreams before, but never anything like the last two nights. And the voice...it promised rewards for me if I complied, and threatened me if I didn't. The threat of my family and friends suffering was almost enough to get me to immediately hand Percy, Annabeth, and Grover over. But I had a really bad feeling about the voice at the same time. There was just something about it that told me it was evil. And Percy, Annabeth and Grover seemed like really good people- I couldn't hand them over and betray them like that. After all, they practically saved my life by allowing me to join them on their quest. I didn't even know where the location was that the voice wanted me to go.

I debated with the idea of telling Percy, Annabeth, and Grover about the dreams I had. But what if I told the three about the dreams, and they thought I was a threat, or going to betray them? I had a feeling that Annabeth didn't completely trust me, and I couldn't risk giving her a reason to leave me behind. I was certain that for my own safety, I had to stay with the group.

After we got off the train, Annabeth decided that we needed to find a way to contact camp. We followed her and wandered the city for what seemed like hours, and the entire time I was lost in my own thoughts. I honestly had no idea what she was planning or looking for, so I just quietly followed them. Then, I decided to approach Percy, who was a fair distance behind Grover and Annabeth, and maybe find a way to ask him if the dreams I was having were normal.

"Hey, do you know where we're going right now?" I asked.

"No idea. I'm kind of new to this quest stuff too."

"Percy, I have a kind of random demigod question for you," I said tentatively, knowing that I had to be careful about the way I asked this. "Is it normal for demigods to have really strange dreams, and do they have any significance to real life?"

"Yeah, it happens all the time. A lot of times dreams can show, like, stuff happening somewhere else in the world, or they can foreshadow the future," he explained. "Have you had any weird dreams lately?"

I cringed, because I was really hoping he wouldn't ask that. "Yeah. They were about...personal family things, though," I said quickly, hoping Percy would get the message that I didn't want to talk about

Percy opened his mouth to reply, but didn't get the chance to, as Annabeth had apparently found what we were looking for. I looked ahead, and realized that we were standing in front of a car wash. Next to me, Percy asked, "What exactly are we doing?"

"It's seventy-five cents," Grover said. "I only have two quarters left. Annabeth?"

"Don't look at me. The dining car wiped me out."

I dug through my backpack. "I only have a dollar bill and two nickels. No quarters."

We all turned to look at Percy, who promptly gave Grover a quarter.

"Excellent," he said, "we could use a spray bottle, but the connection isn't good, and my arm gets tired of pumping."

"What are you talking about?" Percy asked. I was thinking the exact same thing.

"IMing," he replied.

"You mean, instant messaging?" I asked.

"Iris messaging," Annabeth corrected. "The rainbow goddess Iris carries messages for the gods. If you know how to ask, and she's not too busy, she'll do the same for half-bloods."

"You summon the goddess with a spray gun?" Percy asked, just as astounded as I was.

"Unless you know an easier way to make a rainbow," Grover replied, holding up the hose, which mist was starting to come out of, forming a rainbow with the light outside.

Annabeth held her hand out to Percy. "Drachma, please." Percy handed her a big, gold coin, which I assumed was a drachma, and said, "O goddess, accept our offering," while throwing it into the rainbow. The drachma disappeared. "Half-blood Hill," she requested.

After a second, something appeared in the mist. Upon looking at it more closely, I could see an expanse of strawberry fields. In front of us, facing the other way, was a guy with sandy colored hair in an orange tank top and shorts, holding a bronze sword that looked kind of like Percy's. However, when I looked at this sword, I got a sort of weird feeling in my gut.

"Luke," Percy called out.

The guy turned around, and I noticed a scar running across his face. "Percy! Is that Annabeth, too? Thank the gods! Are you guys ok?"

"We're...uh...fine," Annabeth stammered. I had a feeling that she had a crush on Luke, because while saying that, she had begun to straighten her shirt and fix her hair. "We thought- Chiron- I mean…"

"Wait," Luke said, looking directly at me, "who are you?" I had forgotten that I was standing directly in Luke's view, right next to Percy.

"That's Meghan Hart, a half-blood we found along the way. We were actually going to try to get her back to camp before we finish the quest," Annabeth said, a confident, almost triumphant look on her face.

"We were? But Annabeth, Meghan probably saved the quest by killing Echidna. And at this point, it would be nearly impossible to get Meghan back to camp, we're so far along. We only have a week left," Grover protested.

"Killed Echidna, eh? Impressive. Meghan, who's your godly parent?" Luke asked.

I blushed. "Really, I didn't know what I was doing back there. I don't know who my godly parent is, I just know it's my dad."

"Well, Meghan, it's possible that we're siblings. I'm a son of Hermes. When you do get back to camp, _after_ completion of the quest, you'll be staying in my cabin, unless claimed by another god," Luke told me. He emphasized the word 'after', so I assumed that I was here to stay, regardless of what Annabeth planned. "Anyway's, Chiron's down at the cabins. We're having some issues with the campers. Listen, is everything cool with you? Is Grover alright?"

"I'm right here," Grover said, stepping in so Luke could see him. "What kind of issues?"

Just then, a car pulled into the stall next to us, with the music turned all the way up. Immediately, I recognized the song as being "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO, even though I'd only heard that song played a few times. Honestly, it was just really good to hear some music, and in a way, though it was obnoxiously loud, it left me feeling refreshed and energized. Then I remembered that I had my iPod with me, and I hoped that I could safely listen to some music later.

"Chiron had to- what's the noise?" Luke yelled.

"I'll take care of it," Annabeth said, "Grover, c'mon!"

"What?" he asked, "but-"

"Give Percy the nozzle and come on!"

They both left to go to the other stall, but I decided to stay and talk to Luke with Percy. For one, I sort of had a weird feeling about him. Also, I thought I might be able to find a way to send a message to my family through camp. My mom had talked about a camp before, so maybe they would know how to reach her.

"Chiron had to break up a fight," Luke yelled, "Things are pretty tense here, Percy. Word leaked out about the Zeus-Poseidon standoff. We're still not sure how- probably the same scumbag who summoned the hellhound. Now the campers are starting to take sides. It's shaping up like the Trojan War all over again. Aphrodite, Ares, and Apollo are backing Poseidon, more or less. Athena is backing Zeus. So what's your status? Chiron will be sorry he missed you."

Percy began to explain what had happened on the quest, basically telling Luke everything that he had told me the night before on the train. I told Luke what had happened on the Arch the previous day, and how exactly I had defeated the monsters, and I also asked him to find out if there was a way for my family to be contacted. Luke assured me that he would ask Chiron about that, as well as informing him about me being on the quest.

"I wish I was there," Luke said. "We can't help much from here, I'm afraid, but listen...it had to be Hades who took the master bolt. He was there at Olympus at the winter solstice. I was chaperoning a field trip and we saw him."

"But Chiron said the gods can't take each other's magic items directly," Percy replied.

"That's true. Still, Hades has the helm of darkness. How could anybody else sneak into the throne room and steal the master bolt? You'd have to be invisible." There was a pause in the conversation. Luke had an almost panicked look on his face, like he had just realized that he said too much, or that he said the wrong thing.

"Oh, hey," he said after a few seconds. "I didn't mean Annabeth. She and I have known each other forever. She would never… I mean she's like a little sister to me."

Just then, I heard a scream from the stall next to us. "You'd better go see what that was," Luke said. "Listen, are you wearing the flying shoes? I'd feel better if I knew they've done you some good."

"Oh...uh, yeah! Yeah, they've come in handy," Percy said too quickly. I had a feeling that he was being a total liar.

"Really? They fit and everything?" Just then, the water turned off. Luke seemed to notice this. "Well, take care of yourself out there in Denver. And tell Grover it'll be better this time, even though there are three half-bloods now! Nobody will get turned into a pine tree if he just-" The mist was gone, and Luke faded away.

Then, Annabeth and Grover came back around the corner, laughing. Percy didn't look too happy though, and I guess I didn't either. They stopped laughing, and Annabeth asked, "What happened? What did Luke say?"

"Not much," Percy lied once again. "Come on, let's find dinner."

* * *

After leaving the car wash, we found a diner nearby, and decided to seat ourselves. I wasn't sure how exactly we were going to pay for anything, though, since we were all basically out of money. The waitress must have suspected this, since immediately upon coming to take our order, she asked if we had any money. We all froze, trying to come up with something to tell her. I had sort of given up, as I've always been a terrible liar and especially awful at making things up on the spot like that.

Just then, outside of the diner, a huge motorcycle pulled up in the parking lot, causing the diner to go absolutely silent until this huge, intimidating biker walked into the restaurant. Everyone seemed to be enthralled by him- people rose, but the biker waved his hand, and they all sat back down. He radiated pure strength and power, and at that moment, I knew that he was no mortal. He also seemed to radiate anger, I guess, and his presence almost made me tense. Even though I had never met this guy before, I really didn't like him at all.

Once everyone had sat back down, the waitress asked us once again, as she had before, if we had money to pay for our meal. The biker sat in our booth, crowding Grover and Annabeth, and said, "It's on me." The waitress, however, just continued to stare at him, so he looked at her, asked, "Are you still here?", pointed had her, and then she stiffly went back towards the kitchen.

The biker looked at Percy and grinned. "So you're old Seaweed's kid, eh?"

The biker seemed to be getting to Percy, which I understood, because Percy retorted, "What's it to you?"

Annabeth looked panicked, and I probably did too, because this guy seemed like someone you did not disrespect. "Percy, this is-"

The guy raised his hand. "S'okay. I don't mind a little attitude. Long as you remember who's the boss. You know who I am, little cousin?"

I racked my brains, trying to remember all the Greek mythology I had just learned in school. Then I remembered a detail from one of the stories that we read. If I was right, this was…

"You're Clarisse's dad. Ares, god of war," Percy said. Turns out my hunch was correct.

"That's right, punk. I heard you broke Clarisse's spear," said. I assumed that Clarisse was another demigod at camp.

"She was asking for it."

"Probably. That's cool. I don't fight my kid's fights, you know? What I'm here for- I heard you were in town. I got a little proposition for you," Ares said. I didn't like the sounds of that.

And then it dawned on me. What if Ares was my father? I mean, it was clear that my father was a god, but this god? I really wasn't a warlike person, if that made any sense. If anything, I was sort of the opposite.

Thinking about this, I zoned out until Ares said, "...my proposition. I need you to do me a favor."

"What favor could I do for a god?" Percy asked.

"Something a god doesn't have time to do himself. It's nothing much. I left my shield at an abandoned water park here in town. I was going on a little...date with my girlfriend. We were interrupted. I left my shield behind. I want you to fetch it for me," Ares explained.

"Why don't you just go back and get it yourself?" I wanted to slap Percy. His lack of respect for Ares was going to get us incinerated or something. Sure, I didn't really like the guy either, but I would never speak to him like Percy was.

"Why don't I turn you into a prairie dog and run you over with my Harley? Because I don't feel like it. A god is giving you the opportunity to prove yourself, Percy Jackson. Will you prove yourself a coward? Or maybe you only fight when there's a river to dive into, so your daddy can protect you, while you leave the fighting up to others," he said, motioning to me.

"We're not interested. We've already got a quest."

This only seemed to make Ares even more angry. "I know all about your quest, punk. When that item was first stolen, Zeus sent his best out looking for it: Apollo, Athena, Artemis, and me, naturally. If I couldn't sniff out a weapon that powerful… Well, if I couldn't find it, you got no hope. Nevertheless, I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. Your dad and I go way back. After all, I'm the one who told him my suspicions about old Corpse Breath."

"You told him Hades stole the bolt?"

"Sure. Framing somebody to start a war. Oldest trick in the book. I recognized it immediately. In a way, you got me to thank for your little quest." Percy grumbled a halfhearted thanks. "Hey, I'm a generous guy. Just do my little job, and I'll help you on your way. I'll arrange a ride west for you and your friends. Including this new friend. Meghan Hart, I presume?" I nodded.

"We're doing fine on our own," Percy said. He really didn't know when to quit.

"Yeah, right. No money. No wheels. No clue what you're up against. Help me out, and maybe I'll tell you some things you need to know. Something about your mom, Percy. And I have information on the identity of your father, Meghan," he said, looking at me pointedly.

"My father?" I asked at the same time Percy said, "My mom?"

"That got your attention. The water park is a mile west on Delancy. You can't miss it. Look for the Tunnel of Love ride."

"What interrupted your date?" Percy asked. "Something scare you off?"

"You're lucky you met me, punk, and not one of the other Olympians. They're not as forgiving of rudeness as I am. I'll meet you back here when you're done. Don't disappoint me." Then Ares seemed to just disappear.

Grover looked panicked. "Not good. And he sought you out, Percy. This is not good."

"It's probably some kind of trick. Forget Ares. Let's just go."

"Percy, I don't think that's a good idea. I'm not to fond of Ares either, but he seemed serious about his threats. He is a god, after all," I said. I also wanted to hear what Ares had to say about my father, but I didn't want to voice that to the group.

"Why does he need us?"

Annabeth spoke up. "Maybe it's a problem that requires brains. Ares has strength. That's all he has. Even strength has to bow to wisdom sometimes."

"But this water park...he acted almost scared. What would make a war god run away like that?" Percy asked.

"I'm afraid we'll have to find out."

* * *

We got to the water park just as the sun was setting. To be honest, the place was sort of a dump, and it really gave me the creeps, especially because it was starting to get dark outside. Percy started to comment on who Ares' girlfriend was, and ask why he would bring her to a place like this. Annabeth scolded him for his lack of respect, and explained that his girlfriend was Aphrodite. I remembered that from my Greek Mythology lessons at school. Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus, but she didn't like him because of his ugly, or something. I had a vague memory of learning that he was thrown off Mount Olympus as a baby. Poor Hephaestus. I was pretty sure that Ares and Aphrodite had children together in some of the myths, but I couldn't remember the details at the moment.

Eventually we were able to climb over the fence, but Grover managed to fly over using the shoes that Luke mentioned earlier. I was very jealous, but I eventually managed to make it over the fence and avoid being but by the barbed wire. We made our way through the park, and it was quiet, almost too quiet. I was expecting a monster to jump out at us at any moment, and paled when I realized that I had no weapon. I just hoped that the bow would come back if needed.

We made our way to the gift shop that was left unlocked, and Annabeth didn't hesitate to help herself to the fresh clothes and souvenirs in the gift store, and Percy, Grover, and I followed her lead. I wasn't in as bad of shape as the others, but it still did feel nice to have a change of clothes on. While in the shop, I caught my reflection in one of the mirrors in the dressing rooms, and I really did look awful. My curly, golden blonde hair was falling out of the braid it was in and sticking up everywhere. I could see the exhaustion in my light blue eyes.

Then we continued our search for the Tunnel of Love. On the way, I sort of trailed behind the others, so I could carefully search for the Tunnel of Love, and I guess think to myself a little on the way. I overheard some of Percy and Annabeth's conversation about Ares and Aphrodite, and Annabeth was explaining to Percy how they liked to meet in out of the way places so they wouldn't get caught together. Then, she stopped and pointed ahead to an empty pool that was surrounded by little Cupid statues. I could see a tunnel that opened up onthe opposite side. I read the sign that was above the tunnel, and we had found the Tunnel of Love.

I hesitantly approached it, being careful to not get too close to the edge of the pool. Grover crept ahead of us. "Guys, look."

I took another step forward and peered into the pool. At the very bottom, I could see what I assumed was one of the boats for the ride, and in the left seat was Ares' shield. I immediately knew that something wasn't right. "This is way too easy," I said. "One of us could just walk down and grab the shield, right?"

"There's a Greek letter carved here," Annabeth said, motioning to the base of one of the Cupid statues. "Eta. I wonder…"

"Grover, you smell any monsters?" Percy asked.

Grover sniffed, and to my relief, said, "Nothing."

"Nothing- like, in-the-Arch-and-you-didn't-smell-Echidna nothing, or really nothing?"

Grover seemed offended by Percy's question. "I told you, I was underground."

"Okay, I'm sorry. I'm going down there."

"I'll go with you," Grover grumbled.

"No," Percy said. "I want you to stay up top with the flying shoes. You're the Red Baron, a flying ace, remember? I'll be counting on you for backup, in case something goes wrong."

"Sure, but what could go wrong?"

"I don't know. Just a feeling. Annabeth, come with me-"

Annabeth's face turned bright red. "Are you kidding?"

"What's the problem now?" Percy nearly shouted.

"Me, go with you to the...the "Thrill Ride of Love"? How embarrassing is that? What if somebody saw me?"

"Who's going to see you?" Now Percy's face was red too.

I rolled my eyes at them. Seriously, it was just a stupid ride, and the park was completely abandoned. Besides, it would take a minute at most to get the shield and walk back up. "I'll go with you, Percy," I said.

I could feel Annabeth's glare at me as I followed Percy to the boat. I had a feeling that she didn't like being shown up, so she decided, after hesitating a moment, to follow me towards the boat.

Percy got to the boat first. Next to Ares' shield was a pink scarf that I assumed was Aphrodite's. Percy picked it up with an entranced look in his eyes. "Um, Percy-" I started to say.

Annabeth reached the boat and snatched it out of his hands. "Oh, no you don't. Stay away from that love magic."

"What?"

"Just get the shield, Seaweed Brain, and let's get out of here." Percy grabbed it, but the moment he did, I could see a look of panic on his face.

"Wait," Annabeth said, a little too late.

"Too late," I told her.

She glared at me again. "There's another Greek letter on the side of the boat, another Eta. This is a trap."

All of a sudden I could hear mechanical noises surrounding us. Grover yelled something faintly from the top of the pool. I saw the Cupid statues fire their arrows, not at us, but at each other, forming a net on the top of the pool. I remembered the myth that Annabeth was talking about earlier, where Hephaestus trapped Ares and Aphrodite in a net…

"We have to get out," Percy said.

"Duh!" Annabeth and I replied simultaneously.

Percy grabbed the shield, but all three of us were finding it difficult to climb back up to the top of the pool. We didn't account for how steep it actually would be. Grover was trying to hold the net open for us, but when he did, the threads started to wrap around his own hands. Then the Cupids' heads popped open, and I could see cameras and spotlights rising up around the pool. I could hear a voice say, "Live to Olympus in one minute...fifty-nine seconds, fifty-eight seconds…" I had always thought it would be cool to be on television, but not like this.

"Hephaestus! I'm so stupid! Eta is 'H'. He made this trap to catch his wife with Ares. Now we're going to be broadcast live to Olympus and look like absolute fools!" Annabeth shouted.

I had just grabbed the rim of the pool when the mirrors in the tunnel opened, and a bunch of little metallic robots crawled out. Then, I noticed that they were...spiders.

Just as I had that realization, I could hear Annabeth scream, "Spiders! Sp- sp- ahhhh!" Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her fall back into the pool. Then I saw Percy go back down and drag her into the boat. I managed to keep a grip on the edge of the pool, and I decided that my best bet would be so try to hold on for as long as possible. "Thirty, twenty-nine, twenty-eight..."

I focused on keeping my grip. In all honesty, if I didn't think I was going to die, I would have found this situation a little humorous. If I turned out fine, I'd probably laugh at all this later. Okay, we had been tricked by Ares, and that kind of made me mad, but I was pretty impressed with the trap set up here. And honestly, I wasn't as concerned as Annabeth was about looking like an idiot. I thought it would be funny to see Hephaestus' reaction to this. He was expecting to catch Ares and Aphrodite, but instead he caught three demigods. "Twelve, eleven, ten…"

I heard Percy yell, "Grover, get into the booth! Find the 'on' switch!"

Grover was trying to move the net so I could escape. "Go, Grover, listen to Percy!" I yelled at him. Percy probably had some sort of plan. Grover ran over to the control booth and started pushing buttons at random, but nothing was happening.

"Five, four, three, two, one, zero."

Just as the speaker said 'zero' there was an explosion of water into the pool. I locked my grip on the edge so that I wouldn't fall into the pool. I could swim just fine, but I was worried about getting pulled under by a wave or something. I looked up to see one of the cameras a few feet away from me, pointing straight at my face. Then it occurred to me, my dad, whoever he was, was probably watching this. I saw the opportunity, and mouthed, 'Hi, dad." Hopefully my dad had a sense of humor…

Eventually, the water began to settle, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I saw Percy and Annabeth's boat coming towards the pool on a ramp leading to it. Then I noticed that the ramp was blocked, and that they were going to collide with the barricade. Percy and Annabeth must have accounted for that, however, because they jumped, sailing over the exit pool. Grover, hovering on his flying shoes, grabbed them and slowed their fall to the ground. I could hear them crash into something, however, but I wasn't able to turn to see what it was. I wasn't sure how much longer I'd be able to hold myself up.

"Show's over! Thank you! Goodnight!" Percy yelled. The spotlights turned off. The Cupid statues moved back into their original positions. The threads retracted, so I was able to pull myself out of the pool. Once I had pulled myself up, I laid down by the poolside for a second to catch my breath. My arms felt like noodles, and my fingers were really stiff. I was also soaking wet.

After a short pause, I sat up. I looked over at the others, and Percy looked really, really angry. "We need to have a little talk with Ares."

* * *

 **I hope you liked chapter three! Don't forget to leave a review! I'll try to have another chapter up before Monday, so it'll probably be Sunday! It'll probably be longer like this one!**

 **Also, I'm curious, do you have any guesses at who Meghan's godly parent is? I'm not sure if I've made it super obvious or not, so I'm interested as to what you all think! Leave a review and tell me your guess!**


	4. I (Almost) Get Trapped in Paradise

**Hey everyone! I am SO sorry this chapter took so long to post! I promise I haven't already abandoned this story! I honestly had anticipated that I would have a lot more time to write, but school has taken over all my time these last few months. Don't worry though, I'm still writing as much as possible. And it's summer break now, so I should have a lot more time on my hands. Here's the next chapter of the story- I apologize because it's mostly a filler chapter and is on the short side, but it does give a lot more background on Meghan's past!**

 **Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan. I do not own Percy Jackson. Any dialogue you recognize is from** _ **The Lightning Thief**_ **.**

As we walked back to the diner parking lot, I could see Ares waiting for us. He was grinning. "Well, well. You didn't get yourselves killed."

"You knew it was a trap," Percy accused him straightaway. I had a feeling that this confrontation was not going to go well.

"Bet that crippled blacksmith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids. You look good on TV. And that was a nice stunt, Meghan," I almost grinned, but because I was soaking wet and felt really gross, I wasn't exactly in the mood. Ares better have some real information about my father.

"You're a jerk," Percy said, handing him the shield.

"See that truck over there? That's your ride. Take you straight to L.A., with one stop in Vegas," he said, pointing a truck parked across the street from the diner. Great. We didn't even have quality transportation.

"You're kidding."

"Free ride west, punk. Stop complaining. And here's a little something for doing the job," Ares said. He snapped his fingers, and the back door of the truck unlatched. Then, he took a blue backpack off the handlebars of his motorcycle and tossed it to Percy. It contained dry clothes for all of us, twenty dollars, some drachmas, and Double Stuf Oreos. Maybe Ares wasn't so bad after all…

"I don't want your lousy-" Percy started to say.

"Thank you, Lord Ares. Thanks a lot," Grover cut him off.

Then I remembered that Ares told us we would get information too. Percy must have thought of that too, because he said, "You owe us one more thing. You promised me information about my mother. And Meghan's father too."

Ares looked at Percy. "You sure you can handle the news? She's not dead."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean she was taken away from the Minotaur before she could die. She was turned into a shower of gold, right? That's metamorphosis. Not death. She's being kept," Ares explained.

"Kept. Why?"

"You need to study war, punk. Hostages. You take somebody to control somebody else."

"Nobody's controlling me."

Ares laughed. "Oh yeah? See you around kid." He looked like he was about to leave.

"Wait," I said, stopping him. "Lord Ares, with all due respect, you said you had information about my father." I hoped I didn't sound too pushy, or disrespectful. Ares seriously intimidated me.

"Ah, yes, well, you see," Ares looked slightly panicked. "All I know is that I am not your father. Sorry, kid."

I nodded, hoping that I didn't look too disappointed. Ares didn't actually know anything, he was just trying give me something that would convince me to help him. But he just confirmed what I already knew.

This seemed to irritate Percy even more. "You're pretty smug, Lord Ares, for a guy who runs from Cupid statues."

I could feel Ares growing even more angry. "We'll meet again, Percy Jackson. Next time you're in a fight, watch your back."

After Ares drove away, Annabeth immediately scolded Percy. "That was not smart, Percy."

"I don't care."

"Hey, guys, I hate to interrupt, but…" Grover said as he pointed towards the diner. Inside, I could see two men in black coveralls, with logos that matched the truck, paying their check. "If we're taking the zoo express, we need to hurry."

We all looked at each other and shrugged. Sure, it wasn't the best, but we really had no other way to get to Los Angeles. We quickly ran across the street, climbed into the truck, and shut the door behind us.

* * *

Once we had closed the doors, I immediately shivered. It was really dark and smelly, two of the worst things, in my opinion. _So much for getting a quality ride_ , I thought to myself. _Thanks a lot, Ares_. I honestly just really disappointed with the lack of information Ares had given me. Sure, he didn't seem like the most trustworthy guy, but I had really gotten my hopes up that I would find out the identity of my father. Since finding out that I was a demigod, I couldn't shake the curiousity I had regarding my father. I mean, I had always wondered about my dad, but my mom never brought it up, and I was always too afraid to ask anything. On the rare occasion that I would bring my father up, my mother would always respond with a vague answer and then change the topic of conversation. All I knew was that my mom met my dad when she was in college, and I guess they eventually started dating around her senior year. My mom was working on her degree in nursing, but she also minored in performing arts. Right before her graduation, she found out that she was pregnant with me, and shortly after that, my dad disappeared, and my mom hasn't heard from him since. I hadn't ever talked to my dad, let alone seen a picture of him.

In front of me, Percy took out his bronze sword, and the blade glowed faintly. I still had no idea how his sword worked, or where he put it when he was not using it, so I made a mental note to ask him later. We were not alone in the truck- three animals: a zebra, a lion, and an antelope were each in separate cages. Honestly, I couldn't help but feel bad for the animals. They all looked like they had been abused- the zebra had gum in its mane, and the antelope had some balloon tangled up in one if its horns. They didn't even have proper food; the lion had some turnips in its cage, and the zebra and antelope had meat on Styrofoam trays. All of the animals looked extremely malnourished, and the blankets in their cages were all dirty. I couldn't imagine how they survived in the truck. I had only been in there for a few minutes, and already the smell, darkness, and stuffiness were getting to me.

Grover was probably the most infuriated out of all of us. "This is kindness? Humane zoo transport?" He yelled as the car engine started.

I immediately sat down in the corner of the truck with the others so that I wouldn't fall. We discussed what we would do to help the animals, and had Grover tell them that we would try to help them more in the morning. Percy refilled their water and switched the food while Annabeth cut the balloon out of the antelope's horn.

After that, once we settled in, exhaustion hit me immediately. As much as I tried to keep my eyes open and pay attention to the conversation that Percy, Annabeth, and Grover were having, I just couldn't seem to focus and process what they were saying.. I couldn't follow much of the conversation until I heard Grover say, "I should've told you the truth from the beginning. I thought if you knew what a failure I was, you wouldn't want me along."

My stomach dropped, because I was reminded of the dreams I had the two previous nights, and once again my conscience was urging me to just tell them. I felt like I was lying to them, which made me feel even worse because of all the kindness they had shown me. Percy, Annabeth, and Grover had all allowed me to join their group and accepted me even though I wasn't exactly supposed to be there. I had zero experience fighting monsters, except for when I got lucky at the St. Louis Arch, so if anything, I was hindering their quest. I wanted to dismiss everything as just a dream, but I just couldn't, because the two dreams were too similar and vivid to be merely coincidental. And if what Percy told me about demigod dreams was true, I was being manipulated and forced to betray the others by some unknown power. With my stomach in knots, I eventually drifted off to sleep.

* * *

I was the first one to wake up. I had always been an early riser, waking up close to sunrise on most days, so I wasn't surprised.

For a while, with everyone else sleeping, I just sat in the corner of the truck, thinking to myself. I was relieved that I didn't have any dreams that night, but I still worried about what would happen as we got closer to Los Angeles.

It seemed like I was the only one up for the longest time. I looked in my backpack to check my iPod to see the time, but it was dead, so I couldn't even tell how much time was passing. Eventually, Grover stirred awake. "Hey, morning," he said, noticing that I was already awake.

"Morning," I replied. "You know what time it is?"

"No idea." It was really frustrating to me to not know the time.

We sat in silence for a little bit, until Annabeth woke up. We tried to plan what we would do next. Ares had said that there would be a stop in Las Vegas, and then we would be on our way to L.A.. We had plenty of time to spare as well, with just under a week until the deadline.

Then Grover abruptly spoke up. "Meghan, I've been wondering ever since Ares brought it up, but what was the 'stunt' you pulled back in Denver, the one that impressed Ares?"

"Oh, yeah. Well, the camera was in my face at one point, so I decided to mouth 'hi dad' to it. I mean, I assumed he would be watching, since he was a god and all…"

Grover laughed. "That's-" He was cut off when the bus came to an abrupt stop.

We all looked at each other. "The animals," Annabeth said. "They might be checking on the animals. Wake Percy up. We have to hide, now."

Grover shook Percy awake. "The truck's stopped. We think they're coming to check on the animals."

"Hide!" I heard Annabeth say. Then, she disappeared into thin air. I blinked, confused at what I just saw.

"Meghan, get down," Grover hissed. I hid beside them just as the truck doors opened.

"Man! I wish I hauled appliances!" I heard one of the truckers say as he climbed into the truck. I heard him pour water into the animals' dishes. "You hot, big boy?" I assumed he was addressing the lion. Then he splashed the rest of the water in the lion's face, causing the lion to roar. "Yeah, yeah, yeah." I could feel Grover tense up beside me.

Then the trucker threw the antelope a Happy Meal bag that looked somewhat squished. Then he turned to the zebra. "How ya doin', stripes? Least we'll be getting rid of you this stop. You like magic shows? You're gonna love this one. They're gonna saw you in half!"

Suddenly, there was a loud knocking at the side of the trailer. "What do you want, Eddie?" The trucker that was with us yelled.

"Maurice? What'd ya say?"

"What are you banging for?"

The knocking continued. The trucker outside, Eddie, yelled, "What banging?"

Seconds later, Annabeth appeared next to Percy. She must have been the one banging on the side of the truck. "This transport business can't be legal," she said.

"Obviously," I muttered to myself, not thinking anyone would hear me. Annabeth, however, did, and she turned to give me a quick glare.

"Guys, the lion says these guys are animal smugglers," Grover said, breaking some of the tension. "We've got to free them!"

I paused for a second, confused as to how Grover could communicate with the animals, but decided to shrug it off for the moment. Following the lead of Annabeth and Grover, I looked at Percy, hoping he had some sort of plan. I was nervous, because I could hear the voices of Maurice and Eddie outside the truck, and I knew that they would probably be back any second.

Percy then got up and slashed the lock of the Zebra's cage, allowing it to run freely outside of the truck, and right on time too. I briefly saw the Zebra jump over one of the two drivers. Outside, I could hear shouts and car horns, and someone yelling, "Hey, you need a permit for that!".

"Um, guys," I started hesitantly, "we might want to leave now."

"The other animals first," Grover responded. Percy then freed the other animals by cutting off the locks with his sword, and immediately, they jumped out of the truck.

"Good luck," Percy told the animals as they jumped out of their cages and ran down the street. I could hear tourists screaming and taking pictures of the animals. "Will the animals be okay? I mean, the desert and all-" he asked Grover.

"Don't worry, I've placed a satyr's sanctuary on them," Grover told Percy.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning they'll reach the wild safely. They'll find water, food, shade, whatever they need until they find a safe place to live."

"It would be really nice if you could put some sort of blessing like that on us," I joked.

"Unfortunately, it only works on wild animals."

"So it would only affect Percy," Annabeth said.

"Hey!"

"Kidding. Come on. Let's get out of this filthy truck."

Immediately upon getting out of the truck, the hot, sunny weather hit me, and I instantly felt rejuvenated. I'll have to admit, I was pretty excited about being in Las Vegas, even though it was on a time-sensitive quest, and probably only for a short time. We started walking down the streets, and I saw so many things that I had only seen on television.

We walked around aimlessly for a while, trying to find somewhere that we could get something to eat or drink, I guess. I had no idea of what our plans would be to get to Los Angeles now, especially since we couldn't take the truck there.

After walking around for a while, we reached a dead end, right at the Lotus Hotel and Casino. The entrance was this huge, neon flower, and I found it odd when I noticed that no one seemed to be going in or out of the hotel.

We approached the doorman, who instead of shooing us away, smiled at us. "Hey, kids. You look tired. You want to come in and sit down?" I had really expected him to make us all leave, since we probably all looked like a bunch of homeless, up-to-no-good, kind of kids.

I sighed in relief and nodded, and then we followed the guy inside. Immediately upon entering the lobby, my jaw dropped to the floor. I could hardly believe what I was seeing. It was _incredible_. I looked around, and I saw an indoor waterslide, a rock climbing wall, indoor bungee jumping, and tons of video games. I was totally jealous of the guests who could afford to stay at a place like this.

One of the bellhops approached us. "Hey! Welcome to the Lotus Casino. Here's your room key."

Percy stammered. "Um, but…"

"No, no. The bill's taken care of. No extra charges, no tips. Just go on up to the top floor, room 4001. If you need anything, like extra bubbles for the hot tub, or skeet targets for the shooting range, or whatever, just call the front desk. Here are your LotusCash cards. They work in the restaurants and on all the games and rides," the bellhop explained, handing us each a green credit card. There had to be some sort of mistake.

"How much is on here?" Percy asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, when does it run out of cash?"

"Oh, you're making a joke. Hey, that's cool. Enjoy your stay."

The four of us looked at each other and shrugged, and then we decided to take the elevator upstairs to our room. Honestly, I was more relieved than scared at that moment. Sure, we really needed to focus on our quest, but we also hadn't showered or even had a proper night's rest in what seemed like forever. Maybe I could even use the hotel phones to try to contact my family. Surely, my parents were panicking, wondering where I was.

When we arrived at the room and opened the door, all worries I had totally vanished. We were given a four bedroom suite, equipped with everything we might possibly need. I gasped, because I had never stayed in such a luxurious place. There was a fully stocked minibar, a hot tub on the deck, jacuzzi tub, flat screen television...it was amazing. There was even a port for me to charge my iPod, which I promptly plugged in. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Percy tossing the backpack from Ares into the trash can.

"Oh goodness, this place is…" Annabeth started.

"Sweet," Grover said, "Absolutely sweet."

I decided to take a shower, and then I ventured into the closet, which was stocked with clothes that all fit me. I decided on a pair of jean shorts, a plaid flannel shirt, and a pair of flip flops. After changing, I noticed that the others were all still showering, so I decided to grab a can of soda and some chips, and I went to check out the balcony.

I immediately noticed a skeet-shooting machine on the deck and made my way over to it. You could launch clay pigeons off of the balcony with it, and then try to shoot them. "Cool," I said to myself, shrugging as I set it up. It was a lot of fun, and I was actually really good at hitting the pigeons.

Shortly after I made my way out to the deck, Grover joined me, and we decided to make a sort of competition out of pigeon shooting. To be quite honest, I totally destroyed Grover on shooting the pigeons. He had a decent aim, but I was able to hit most, if not all, of the pigeons he launched for me.

"Gods, Meghan, you are really good at this," Grover commented. "Your aim is so precise."

"Thanks, Grover," I replied. "I guess I'm a natural at this." It wasn't false- I had always been naturally inclined to things that required good aim. Whether it involved sports or just a simple game of darts, I just had some sort of innate skill with that sort of thing. After a while, I heard Annabeth get out of the shower and turn on the television. Grover decided to go back into the room, leaving me alone to focus on the skeet-shooter. Being alone, I became lost in focusing on the game. I had no sense of how much time passed when Grover yelled to me, "Hey Meghan, we're going downstairs." I quickly abandoned the skeet-shooter to go explore the rest of the hotel.

Once we all got downstairs to the main area of the hotel, we all went our separate ways. I went down the waterslides in the lobby a couple times each, played some of the video games in the lobby, danced in this club area, (which I assumed was probably a 21 and over area, but I wasn't spoken to by any employees, so I stayed there for a while), and then went to a karaoke lounge area, and promptly signed myself up to sing. I don't perform in front of crowds too often, but I would consider myself to be a fairly good singer, and I decided that since I was on a sort of vacation here, why not?

I sat down at a table by myself to look through the seemingly endless list of songs I could sing, and suddenly, I sensed someone rushing up behind me.

"Meghan, we have to leave now! The quest!" I heard. I turned to see Percy and Annabeth dragging a screaming Grover towards me.

"What?" I said. In the back of my mind, thoughts began to stir. Wasn't I supposed to be doing something else?

"The quest!" Percy insisted. "And finding your dad! We have to go now!"

I gasped, realizing what he was saying, but I still didn't feel totally convinced that we had to leave _now_. I mean, we definitely had the time to stay just a bit longer. Noticing I was sluggish, Annabeth linked her free arm around mine, and I followed them as they made their way towards the exit.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the same bellhop from earlier run up to us. "Well, now, are you ready for your platinum cards?"

"We're leaving," Percy told him.

"Such a shame. We just added an entire new floor full of games for platinum-card members," he said.

Grover reached out to take one of the cards, but Annabeth stopped him and said, "No, Thanks."

We walked away from the bellhop and towards the doors of the hotel. I was really tempted to look back, and maybe convince the others that we should just stay a couple more hours. I mean, we'd only been there less than a day, maybe a few hours at most.

When we got through the doors of the hotel, any temptation I had to turn back ceased. But being outside, something felt weird. It was like the air was different or something. I looked up and noticed the storm clouds and heat lightning in the sky. But it was sunny when we arrived at the hotel, and it still felt like it was the afternoon...

I saw Percy run over to a newspaper stand. _He must be checking the date_ , I realized. _But there's no way we stayed any longer than one day._ Then I saw his face go completely pale, and I was almost afraid to ask him what the date read.

Slowly, he looked up at us. "Guys, we were in there a lot longer than a few hours. It's June twentieth. We only have one day to complete our quest."

 **Ok, there's chapter four! What do you think so far? I'd really appreciate if you left a review to tell me what you think! Hopefully, the next chapter will be posted soon!**


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